Monday, February 25, 2013

On the occasion of the anniversary of the February 1986 EDSA
uprising, a newly formed association of call center workers today demanded
reforms in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to protect labor
rights. In a press conference in CebuCity, the Inter-Call
Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) declared that “We are for a stable BPO
industry so that we can have regular jobs that provide decent salaries and
benefits but this cannot happen if the requirements and criteria for opening a
call center company are so relaxed.”

The first public activity of ICCAW was occasioned by its
open support for employees of Cordia Philippines,
a call center based in CebuCity’s AsiatownI.T.Park.
Some 76 Cordia workers have already filed cases against their former employer at
the National Labor Relations Commission for illegal closure, non-payment of salaries and non-remittance
of their mandated benefits.

Many of ICCAW’s
pioneers were workers of Direct Access, another call center which closed down
and left its employees with unpaid wages and benefits. But after months of
protests, lobbying and the support of the militant Partido ng Manggagawa, the
Direct Access workers were able to secure their monetary claims.

Ruben Josol, ICCAW spokesperson,
averred “ICCAW is coming out in
solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Cordia. We are enraged that a call center
company closes down, runs away from its obligations but then easily opens up a
new company of the same nature and with its former clients. Some employers have
been held accountable but majority are running scot-free and with impunity. We
attribute this problem due to lack of strong state regulation in BPO industry.”

“We want a BPO company to be a better place to work with but if the
occupational health of employees are compromised this industry will instead be
a time bomb just waiting to explode. We are also asking candidates
running in the elections to make workers demands part of their platform. If our
so-called democracy is not just all form but has some substance, then the
demands of the majority of the people must be met by those seeking the mandate
of the voters,” Josol added.

A priority agenda of ICCAW is stricter government regulation of the
BPO industry. It is proposing guidelines on requirements to set up call centers
must be put in place and strictly implemented. This will reduce fly by night
centers that are not financially equipped to run the business and does not
respect labor rights, according to the group.

“We aim to be a voice and advocate for call center and BPO workers so
that the 600,000 employees in the industry who are entirely unorganized can enjoy
protection,” Josol insisted.

ICCAW is also calling for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits
and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and
commensurate to the profitable dollar-earning nature of the call center
industry.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

A change
in mining policy and use of coal in power generation must be taken into
consideration when government agencies conduct their investigations on the
mining disaster that took place off Semirara island in the province of Antique,
the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement.

PM Chair
Renato Magtubo, said that aside from the working condition which is the group’s
primary concern on this issue, the Sermirara disaster also confirms the basic
flaw in operating a business that gambles with the lives of workers and in
promoting an industry that destroys the balance of nature.

The
incident left at least seven people dead while several others are still
missing. It also raised the prospect of the country having to face
a supply problem since the Semirara Mining Corporation supplies 90% of the
country’s coal requirements.

“This is
another wake-up call for government to change course. A hard choice has
to be made here whether we proceed with the hazards of coal mining or we make a
decisive shift towards renewable energy and to a more safe and sustainable
sources of jobs,”stated Magtubo.

Coal
mining and coal-powered generation system in the power industry contribute
significantly to the global warming as they emit more carbon (CO2) to the
atmosphere compared to renewable energy sources. Almost 30% or 4,867MW of
the country’s 16,359 MW total installed generating capacity comes from
coal.

“This
sector is supposed to be in the outward transition in the midst of climate
crisis. Unfortunately, the failure of the Electric Power Industry Reform
Act (EPIRA) to generate additional capacities made coal the preferred option
for private investors,”added Magtubo.

Magtubo
explained further that while the mining industry creates employment, its share
to the country’s total employment is a negligible 0.07% based on the latest
Labor Force Survey. He added that except for mine engineers, ordinary
mine workers receive low wages despite this industry being considered most
dangerous to workers by the International Labor Organization (ILO). And
even with too much hype on the benefits derived from mining, the country’s
share from private mining activities is only about 2% in excise tax.

Meanwhile,
the Partido ng Manggagawa is putting up a “Manggagawa Naman!” challenge to
candidates to ensure that even with election fever workers issues are not
eclipsed by costly and noisy political ads.

“If they
want to court our vote, then they should stand first with our ‘Apat na Dapat’
demand,”said Magtubo.

The ‘Apat
na Dapat’ demands under the ‘Manggagawa Naman’ challenge include demands for
regular jobs and a living wage; universal health care, education and affordable
housing; equal rights and opportunities for women; and low prices on food,
water and power.

Members of the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the Philippine Airlines
Employees’ Association (PALEA) held a Valentine’s Day rally at the headquarters
of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and called for the reinstatement of Philippine
Airlines (PAL) workers back to their regular jobs. The rallyists dubbed their
action as “Harana para sa mga puso” as it appealed to the new PAL management from
the SMC group for a resolution to the long-running labor dispute.

“On this day of hearts, we knock on the hearts of the new
PAL management to heed the demand for reinstatement. This is already the second
Valentine’s Day of PALEA members on the picketlines and we are no less determined
to continue fighting until we are able to return to our regular jobs,” said
Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Hundreds of Nagkaisa and PALEA members assembled at the
Podium around 9:30 am before proceeding to the nearby SMC headquarters at the
Ortigas CBD. The Valentine’s Day protest followed a series of mass actions since
October last year at the SMC headquarters. The protests led to the renewal of negotiations
between PALEA and the new PAL management which is still ongoing.

Meanwhile the PALEA and PM contingent in the Valentine’s Day
rally also bannered the demand “Manggagawa Naman!” as
a challenge to senatorial candidates to put the concerns of labor on their
platform. The protection of job security and promotion of regular jobs is a
major concern of the workers in this election, Today’s rally is a continuation
of labor’s campaign around issues for the duration of the electoral season.

“We challenge the senator wannabes
to make workers issues part of their agenda. If our so-called democracy is not
just all form but has some substance, then the demands of the majority of the
voters—which is the working class—must be heeded by the candidates,” asserted
Rivera.

The “Mangggawa Naman” movement is pushing
for a set of demands which they call “Apat na Dapat”:

1.Regular jobs

2.Affordable housing

3.Health and education for all

4.Cheap food, electricity and water.

The "Manggagawa Naman" movement had kickoff activity in the early evening of February 8 when some 300 workers marched with torches ablaze around the airport area while carrying streamers and banners of their "Apat na Dapat" demands.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) asked candidates
running in the elections to make workers demands part of their platform. PM
issued the dare with two days to go before the start of the campaign of
national candidates and as part of its electoral advocacy.

“If our so-called democracy is not just all form but has
some substance, then the demands of the majority of the people must be met by
those seeking the mandate of the voters. The
electoral air war is already heating up even before February 12 with wannabes senators
maximizing the loophole of the law by flooding television and radio with
pre-campaign political ads. Yet we have to see any of them respond to the
urgent demands of the workers and poor aside from motherhood statements,”
declared Judy Ann Miranda, secretary general of PM.

As a kickoff for labor’s campaign
around issues, last Friday some 300 workers bannered the demand “Manggagawa
Naman!” as a challenge to senatorial and other candidates. “The torch parade around
the airport area is the herald of the ‘Manggagawa Naman Movement’ which seeks
to highlight labor issues in this election,” Miranda explained.

The workers pushed for a set of
demands which they called “Apat na Dapat”:

1.Regular jobs

2.Affordable housing

3.Health and education for all

4.Cheap food, electricity and water.

In the Friday mass action, members
of members of PM, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA),
United Cavite Workers Association, Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Paranaque,
Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Antipolo, Zone One Tondo Organization and Alyansa ng
Maralitang Pilipino marched from the PALEA protest camp to the Our Lady of
Airways Parish in Pasay
and then back several times. The scores of torches lit the night and
highlighted the placards emblazoned with the slogan “Manggagawa Naman!”

Before the torch parade, the workers celebrated the 13th
founding anniversary of PM and commemorated the first year of the group PM
Coalition with an afternoon-long program of speeches, presentations and cultural
numbers at the PALEA picketline. The workers also paid homage to Filemon “Ka
Popoy” Lagman who was assassinated on February 6, 2001 in the University of the
Philippines.
Lagman was the brain child behind the formation of PM as a labor party. ###

Friday, February 8, 2013

With the campaign period for
national candidates set to start next Tuesday, some 300 workers bannered the
demand “Manggagawa Naman!” as a challenge to senatorial and other candidates to
put the concerns of labor on their platform. The rally around the airport area
is the kickoff for labor’s campaign around issues for the duration of the
electoral season.

“The electoral air war is already
heating up even before February 12 with senator wannabes maximizing the
loophole of the law by flooding television and radio with pre-campaign political
ads. Yet we have to see any of them respond to the urgent demands of the workers
and poor aside from motherhood statements. We dare them to put the concerns of
labor on their platform,” asserted Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido ng
Manggagawa (PM).

The ralliysts marched from the
PALEA protest camp to the Our Lady of Airways Parish and then back. The scores
of torches lit the night and highlighted the placards emblazoned with the
slogan “Manggagawa Naman!”

The workers pushed for a set of demands which
they called “Apat na Dapat”:

1.Regular jobs

2.Affordable housing

3.Health and education for all

4.Cheap food, electricity and water

Before the torch parade, the workers celebrated the 13th
founding anniversary of PM and commemorated the first year of the group PM
Coalition with an afternoon-long program of speeches, presentations and
cultural numbers at the PALEA picketline. The workers also paid homage to
Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman who was assassinated on February 6, 2001 in the
University of the Philippines.
Lagman was the brain child behind the formation of PM as a labor party. ###

WHAT: Some 300 workers
and poor to rally and call on candidates for platform-based campaign

WHEN: Today, February 8 (Friday), 6:00
p.m.

WHERE: PALEA protest camp to Our Lady of
Airways Parish and back

DETAILS:With the campaign period
for national candidates set to start next week, workers and poor will banner
the demand “Manggagawa Naman!” as a challenge to senatorial and other
candidates to put the concerns of labor on their platform. The rally around the
airport area is the kickoff for labor’s campaign around issues for the duration
of the electoral season. Specifically the workers are pushing for “Apat na
Dapat” set of demands:

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Our Vision

Our dream is a world that gives due importance to the role of the working class and respects the dignity of labor. A social order where the working men and women of the world live together in peace, harmony and progress.Our aspirations lie in the emancipation of labor. A government that is truly of the workers, by the workers and for the workers.

Our hopes rest in a future where social progress thrives not for the benefit of a few people but for the development and richness of the entire humankind. A society that is free from the chains of wage slavery and where oppression does not exist.

Our Mission

Forge the unity of the workers into an independent working class party to organize them as a potent political force in social transformation towards the advancement and protection of labor from the scourge of globalization, establishment of a genuine workers’ government and the emancipation of the working class from capitalist exploitation and wage slavery.

Workers Unite!

The working class is the most important class in society. But, labor will only be a force to reckon with at a time when labor assumes the responsibility of leading the struggle to a decent living - free from exploitation of the propertied elite.

The time has come to rally every underprivileged sector of the society, to take the bull by the head and confront the issues of today. The working class must take an active role in every political exercise presented. The backbone of the independent party must be comprised of the working class with the other marginalized sectors in solidarity.

We must organize politically.

This is our own challenge and we must vow not to shirk from it.

Our future is in our hands, in our unity, in our struggle, in our party.